


Of Papers, Books, and Homework

by BeautifulDelusions



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Castiel Works in a Bookstore, College Student Castiel, College Student Dean, Demisexual Castiel, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Matchmaker Gabriel, Oblivious Dean, Romance, also maybe a tiny bit, which is mostly implied/hinted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2014-09-04
Packaged: 2018-02-16 03:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2253678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulDelusions/pseuds/BeautifulDelusions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angling his body towards Castiel, he held out his hand and introduced himself.  "Hi.  I'm Dean Winchester, fourth year Psychology major with an English minor and currently contemplating the stupidity of my choice in adding said minor."</p><p>Castiel slowly reached out and took Dean's hand before tilting his head back just the tiniest bit and looking up at Dean through long black lashes that only emphasized the absolutely gorgeous blue eyes staring up at him.  Dean sucked in a sharp breath as Castiel parted his chapped lips and replied, "Hello, Dean."</p><p>---</p><p>Written for a friend's birthday prompt:  <em>Little homey bookstore and I want Cas working there, and they can be college students maybe in their last year, and Dean needs to write a paper or something (I'll leave how they meet up to you).  Cas's brothers Gabriel and Balthazar work there, too, and maybe poke fun at Cas or something?</em></p><p>Kinda strayed a little, but I may write a second installment.  (;</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Papers, Books, and Homework

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not as pleased with this as I'd like to be, but it's not gonna get any better than it is. (Sorry, dearie.)
> 
> This is for a friend's birthday prompt, so I hope she likes it. ^^;
> 
> (I may write a second installment to follow up on this one, but I'm not sure. It just depends.)
> 
> Anywho, happy reading!

Dean frowned to himself as he walked down the wooden walkway that curled in on itself as it progressively went down before branching off into the building's entryway.  It was an odd place to have a bookstore, and the items set up outside it—a metal giraffe painted in the strangest colors with a scarf wrapped around its neck, a few potted aloe plants, and what might have been a platypus or something equally as ridiculous—did not seem to fit into the description of a normal bookstore.  The building itself—faux brick texture painted white with a few rust-colored shutters framing barred windows—didn't help ease his concern, either.  Granted, this place seemed to be his last resort.  He couldn't work at his apartment since his roommates had already claimed the place for their party that evening weeks ago, and all the study rooms at the library had been taken and some sort of meeting was taking place outside of the study rooms, which was just an awful atmosphere for any schoolwork for him.  The only place close enough in town had been Literate Heaven; one of his friends had told him the place had a room at the back where it was quiet, and there was free Wi-Fi.  So, honestly, he didn't have much room for being picky about the place.

Thus, with quite a bit of trepidation, Dean inhaled quickly and curled his hand around his backpack strap before heading inside the store.

The inside wasn't much better.

The place smelled like old books, and the first thing Dean saw was a tea set.  The front desk (which had no one at it) was to the right, and the cabinets and tables near it had the most myriad collection of items.  The carpet flooring was a dark green color, which was odd enough, but it also ended at the doorway that led further into the place, replaced with old-looking wood floors that creaked loudly when he took his first step into the back area.  It was larger than the front, but it was almost as confusing.  There were random display cases that held items that looked to be collectibles of some sort, and the walls contained multiple different movie posters and frames of photos of famous people with their signatures.  There were a lot of shelves set in the walls, as well as the bookcases and tables out in the floor, that were packed with books—far more than Dean had expected the place to have.

There didn't seem to be anyone in the place _at all_ , which was a little concerning, but it also practically guaranteed that he would have enough quiet to write his paper in peace.  He smiled and nodded to himself, walking over to one of the empty tables nearby, setting his laptop bag down only when he found the plug outlet close by.

It only took him a few minutes to set up his laptop, and then he was staring at the blank page of a Word document.  Rolling his lip between his teeth, he double-clicked the space for the header and inserted the automatic page number before typing his last name in front of that, and then he double-clicked back on the middle of the document to close out of the header.  It made him feel better to at least have _something_ written, even if it was just "Winchester 1."

"Cassie, it's just one evening."

The heavily-accented voice suddenly rang out in the store, causing Dean to jump slightly.  He glanced in the general direction to see a dark-haired male striding out from a back room, followed by a slightly taller, sandy-haired man.  Neither of them seemed to notice Dean, so he kept silent as he studied them.

The dark-haired male spoke next, and his voice was deep and somewhat familiar, though Dean wasn't sure exactly why.  "I don't care, Balthazar.  I don't want to go."

The sandy-haired man (apparently Balthazar) sighed heavily and frowned.  "You need to remove that stick up your ass at some point, Castiel.  It's _one_ party; it won't kill you.  I'm not even saying you have to stay for more than—oh, an hour.  That's not too bad, is it?  One evening, one party, one hour.  You don't have to drink or dally with anyone."

Castiel shook his head firmly, growling, "I said _no_ , and—"

Castiel had been walking steadily closer to the table at which Dean was seated, and he suddenly stopped as his gaze found Dean, who was trying not to grin.  Balthazar only looked over because the other male had, and when his eyes landed on Dean, he made a surprised, "Oh."

Dean raised a hand and gave a slight wave.  "Hi.  I hope it's all right that I'm in here.  A friend said you guys didn't mind if someone was doing work."

That seemed to jar Castiel because he shook his head in a couple of quick, aborted movements, one of his hands moving up to rub the back of his neck.  "No—I mean, yes—yes, it's all right."

Dean raised both his eyebrows slightly, a smirk curling his lips as color bled into Castiel's face.  Balthazar seemed to be just as startled (and amused) by Castiel's reaction, and he opened his mouth to say something when another voice filled the room.

"Dean-o!  You came!"

Dean twisted his head around to catch sight of a familiar brunette walking in from the front room.  "Heya, Gabriel.  And yeah, my roommates had already claimed the apartment for their party this weekend, and there wasn't anywhere to work at the library because everywhere was taken."

Gabriel screwed his face up in confusion.  "Wait—your roommates are having a party, and you're _writing a paper_?"

Dean chuckled slightly, shrugging.  "Unfortunately, yes.  The paper's due on Monday, so I think I've put it off as long as I could for _me_ to be able to finish it.  I haven't done a single bit of research because I don't know what I want my topic to be."

"You're taking one of Shurley's lit classes right?  Hey, Cassie, you think you can help him out?  You made a perfect grade in there, didn't you?" Gabriel queried, shifting his focus off Dean and onto Castiel, who had moved to one of the bookcases nearby and was unpacking a box.

Castiel paused, blinking slightly as if startled.  His hesitation was answer enough for Dean.

"Man, don't put the poor guy on the spot like that.  Besides, he's working," Dean defended the dark-haired male so that Castiel wouldn't have to feel weird about refusing to help.

"It's our family's store," Gabriel snorted, moving to Castiel's side and taking the box from him.  "I can do this.  Go help Dean, will ya?" the brown-eyed male basically ordered, causing Dean to repress the urge to groan in frustration.

Castiel looked like he wanted to argue, but something in Gabriel's expression seemed to stop him, and he set his jaw before walking up to Dean's table and slipping into the seat beside his.  Dean frowned at Gabriel for a short moment before turning back to his laptop, chancing a quick glance around the room to see that Balthazar had apparently gone off elsewhere.

Angling his body towards Castiel, he held out his hand and introduced himself.  "Hi.  I'm Dean Winchester, fourth year Psychology major with an English minor and currently contemplating the stupidity of my choice in adding said minor."

Castiel slowly reached out and took Dean's hand before tilting his head back just the tiniest bit and looking up at Dean through long black lashes that only emphasized the absolutely _gorgeous_ blue eyes staring up at him.  Dean sucked in a sharp breath as Castiel parted his chapped lips and replied, "Hello, Dean."

 _And holy shit_ , the guy's voice was even deeper up close, and it was playing haywire with Dean's nerve endings.  He enjoyed the sound of his name in that voice probably a bit _too_ much.

Castiel's hand released his before he continued with a touch of amusement, "I'm an English and History double major, and I'm in my first semester of graduate school."

Dean managed not to blush at the mention of Castiel's majors.  He hoped he hadn't offended the guy.  "Of course you are.  I didn't, uh, mean anything bad by it."

The dark-haired man's lips twitched into a slight smile.  "I know, Dean.  It's all right."

Dean cleared his throat, raising a hand and pushing it through his short hair.  "You don't really have to help me, you know.  I got myself in this last-minute mess."

Castiel shrugged one shoulder.  "I don't really mind.  I can at least assist you with your topic choice.  I'm actually one of his TA's."

And that was when the voice clicked.  "I _thought_ I knew your voice!" Dean exclaimed, snapping his fingers once.  "You introduced yourself to the class the first day, right?"

"That is correct," Castiel answered, looking pleased even as his face flushed slightly.  "So it really isn't a problem for me to aid you.  It's part of my duties as a TA."

"Yeah, but this isn't the _university_ , and we're not in your office or desk space or whatever they give you guys.  We're—"

"At my family's bookstore, which currently has no customers aside from you.  Balthazar is working the front register, and Gabriel is stocking the shelf with the books we just had to re-order.  There is nothing else for me to do, and as a TA for the class, I have no issues with treating this as my...  'desk space,'" Castiel retorted, his lips twisting into a wider smile.  "So why don't you stop apologizing and let me help you?"

Dean couldn't help but nod and say, "Okay."

 

* * *

 

Castiel ended up being the best help Dean could have ever asked for in those two days.  He'd taken it in slow steps, asking Dean what his favorite pieces of literature had been before supplying him with a few different routes in which he could take his paper.  He'd then told Dean what was "allowed" for their topic choices, encouraging him to choose an aspect of either one story that he'd really enjoyed or to choose an aspect that encompasses several different selections and take his thoughts from there.  He'd given examples of topics that would be too broad or too narrow for the sort of paper being written, and by the time Dean had come up with his topic and started writing, the paper practically wrote itself.  Castiel had even proofread his paper and given him a few pointers.

The day Dean had gotten his paper back, he'd gone straight to Literate Heaven after his classes were over.  Balthazar was working the front register again, and he smiled politely before motioning towards the back room.  "If you're looking for Cassie, he's back there.  He could probably use some help, actually.  We just got a large shipment."

Dean nodded his thanks before heading off to the back room, spotting the dark-haired man easily.  He was currently balancing several boxes that looked like they could possibly tip over at any moment, so Dean quickened his pace to help him.  He easily grabbed the top two boxes and pulled them down into his arms.

"Balthazar, you're supposed to be at the re— _oh_."  Castiel stopped midsentence, his eyes widening in surprise.  Pink tinted his cheekbones as he cleared his throat.  "Hello, Dean."

Dean grinned, winking at him.  "Heya, Cas."

Castiel's brows furrowed, expressing pure confusion as he repeated, "'Cas'?"

It was Dean's turn to blush, and he licked his lips to give him a moment to collect his thoughts.  "Uh, yeah; 'Castiel' is a bit of a mouthful, so I thought maybe you wouldn't mind being called 'Cas.'  I won't call you that if you'd rather I didn't, of course."

Castiel seemed to legitimately think it over before finally shaking his head.  "I don't mind.  It's much preferable to 'Cassie,' at least."

Dean couldn't help but grin.  "Awesome.  So, where do you need these?  Is it something I can help with?"

"They're going in the back left corner.  And I don't feel comfortable putting you to work when you're not an employee," Cas answered as he started walking in the direction he'd indicated.

Dean snorted and rolled his eyes.  "I'm volunteering free labor.  You're not making me do anything, so technically you aren't putting me to work," he retorted as he set the boxes down on the ground.  Cas worried his lower lip between his teeth, his eyes glancing over to Dean, who added, "Besides, it's the least I could do after your help on my paper.  I actually made a perfect grade on it."

Cas's face lit up, a smile curling his lips and showing off a momentary flash of teeth while his eyes brightened to an impossible shade of blue that made Dean feel like he was drowning.  "That's great, Dean!  Congratulations!"

Dean fought back a slight blush at the praise, and he shrugged.  "I honestly couldn't have done it without you, man.  So will you let me help you out?"

Cas gave him a calculating look, to which Dean jutted out his lower lip in an exaggerated pout.  The dark-haired man's lips twitched before he fake-sighed.  "I suppose you can help me."

Dean grinned and quickly bent down to open the first box.

 

* * *

 

After that day Dean's schedule altered a bit.  Whenever he had free time, he spent it at Literate Heaven, sometimes with Gabriel and even Balthazar, but mostly with Cas, helping out whenever the dark-haired man allowed it.

Castiel was probably the most enigmatic person Dean had ever met.  The more he learned about the guy, the less he felt like he really _knew_ , and it was oddly addicting.  Cas was so matter-of-fact that it sometimes bordered on sassy, and he sometimes spoke in cryptic phrases or used incorrect slang that was mostly amusing.  He didn't understand half the references Dean made, and he listened to all sorts of music genres (mostly pop, which confused the hell out of Dean since he'd have pegged him for a classical or musical kind of guy).  The reasoning he had given had been insanely convoluted, and Dean had promptly told him that he was doing it wrong, which had led to Cas ignoring him for the next hour.  (Dean still hadn't figured out why the guy could take no offense to half the shit people said, but _that_ had somehow upset him.)

Cas didn't know hardly anything about cars, but he did admit that Dean's baby was beautiful, which was enough to excuse Cas's horrible taste in music.  And Cas also agreed that pie was obviously the most superior dessert over _anything_ else, which promptly blinded Dean to—oh, every other possible fault the grad student could have.

It was probably safe to say that Dean had a slight crush on the blue-eyed beauty, if "slight crush" meant he was practically in love with the guy. 

It was kind of a problem, actually, because Dean was pretty certain he'd never seen even a spark of interest in Cas's eyes when looking at _anyone_ , like, _ever_ , in the past few months, which had made him wonder if Cas was perhaps asexual or aromantic, or maybe even both.  He didn't want to put any sort of pressure on the other guy if he was either of those because that would be completely unfair and would likely cause a rift in their friendship, which he wanted to _keep_.  He had no problem burying his feelings if it meant he got to have Cas around him.

It wasn't long before he found out his conclusion had been incorrect.

 

* * *

 

It was late February; five months since he'd walked into Literate Heaven the first time.  He was sitting at a table rewriting some of his messier notes while also adding in notes as he read along in the chapter.  The store was fairly packed, which Dean had found out was actually _normal_ , unlike the empty state it had been the first two times he'd come to the place.  Cas was off helping some parent find books her kid might enjoy, a thought that made Dean grin around the pen he was currently biting down on. 

As he refocused on the book in front of him, he absently dragged the edge of it along his lower lip, stopping only to write down something before returning it to his mouth.  He was vaguely aware of tapping the end with his tongue, the plastic retracting inside the pen before easily falling back out since the spring was caught on the inside.  He moved his hand to rest against the notebook he was writing in, softly tapping the pen in a quick rhythm against the paper as he lifted his gaze to glance around the room.

Almost immediately Dean's eyes met dark blue ones, the pupils larger than normal.  Cas's lips were parted, a fairly distinctive flush in his cheeks, and Dean found himself tilting his head curiously.  "Hey, man, are you okay?  You're not running a fever or anything, are you?"  He reached out a hand to attempt touching the other guy's face without even thinking about it, and he wasn't expecting it (though he _should have been_ ) when Castiel jerked back out of reach.

Dean flinched, his hand quickly dropping into his lap as the rejection burned through him, leaving him feeling slightly breathless as disappointment made itself a nest between his lungs, his stomach, and his ribs.  "I—" he had to pause and swallow thickly.  "Sorry, Cas."

Cas opened his mouth to speak when Gabriel suddenly walked up, a customer in tow.  "Hey, Cassie, Dean-o, you think you can go to the back and see if you can find the book on this paper?"  He handed over a folded sheet of paper that Cas took without complaint.

Dean pushed himself up from the seat, easily following the dark-haired man to the back.  "What book are we looking for?"

There was the sound of Cas unfolding the paper, and then it was being crumpled.  "We aren't.  Gabriel wants us to talk."

Dean swore his heart stopped.  "Uh, about what?"

Cas turned to look at him, his head tilted and his eyes narrowed.  He hesitated for a short moment before asking, "Do you know what demisexual or demiromantic means?"

Dean furrowed his brows slightly before answering, "I think it's what people identify with when they're only able to feel attraction to someone after having an emotional attachment with them."

Cas's lips twitched into a bare hint of a smile.  "Not exactly, but it is a fairly close interpretation.  Typically, demisexuals and demiromantics are people who don't actively seek emotional contact with others; they don't have the desire to be sexually active or attempt to develop an emotional attachment with someone.  But it's possible that they might find someone that makes them want that sort of connection, though it's usually pretty rare for even that to happen."

Dean still didn't know what—oh.  _Oh._ "Is that—are you—"

"Yes," Cas answered before Dean could finish his sentence.

 It was silent for a moment before Dean cleared his throat and asked quietly, "And why does Gabriel think we need to talk?"

Cas looked like he was contemplating the pros and cons of what he was about to say before he finally gave in.  "Because I have recently found myself enjoying the thought of kissing you... among other things.  I have also grown exceptionally fond of you."

Dean could feel his heartbeat in his ears, and he tried to stamp down the pure anticipation pressing up his throat.  "Can I kiss you?" he whispered, afraid to disturb the moment.  He saw Cas's eyes widen, and then he found himself somehow seated on a box of books with chapped lips pressed gently against his own.  He lightly cupped Cas's jaw in his hands, brushing soft, short kisses against the other man's lips until he felt Cas slowly starting to relax.  It was only then that he slowly started moving his lips against Cas's, coaxing him into somewhat chaste, open-mouthed kisses.

Dean emitted a surprised moan when his lower lip was gently sucked on, and one of Cas's hands slid up into his hair.  He was less startled when Cas licked his way into his mouth, tilting his head back since he had a _slight_ height advantage with Dean sitting like he was.  He willingly allowed Cas to lead the kiss, making pleased noises at the taste that was purely _Cas_ infiltrating his senses and making everything around them fall away.

 

* * *

 

Dean wasn't expecting it when his head was suddenly tilted back, hot lips slanting across his before he had a lapful of dark-haired, blue-eyed male.  Dean's hands found their way to Cas's hips, squeezing gently and earning a squirm and a breathy moan against his lips.

"Cas, baby, I need to finish this homework," Dean protested half-heartedly, tilting his head back as the older male trailed licks and nibbles down his jaw to his neck.

"Go ahead," Cas breathed against his neck, his teeth teasing the skin.

Dean's teeth sunk into his lower lip to help stifle his groan.  "There's no way I can concentrate like this, Cas."  A hard suck at his neck sent a shiver tripping down his spine.

"Then do it later."  That was Cas's sulking voice, and it made Dean's lips twitch into a smile that was quickly overtaken by a yelp as Cas pinched his side.  "I know you're smirking at me, Dean," he muttered irritably, moving his attention to Dean's jaw and biting at it in reprimand.

"Oh, _come on_ , you two!" Balthazar exclaimed, sounding like he was torn between exasperated and amused.  "You can't do that out here.  This is the second time this week."

Dean smiled sheepishly, shrugging a shoulder.  "Sorry, man."

"No, you aren't, or you'd stop doing it.  Can you _please_ just screw each other already?" Balthazar sighed, propping his hip against the doorway.

Cas's retort was instant.  "I keep trying, but Dean's not getting the hint."

Dean choked on air, heat filling his face and burning his ears.  "What—you've only been trying things _here_!"

Balthazar's chuckle was followed by his suggestion of, "You boys could go home now if you wanted.  It's one of our slow days."

When Cas's hopeful blue eyes met Dean's green ones, Dean smiled crookedly and nodded his assent.  He earned a hard, hot kiss in return before Cas slipped from his lap, and he spared his homework one last glance before giving up on it; it could wait 'til later.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
> 
> (The description I gave for demisexual/demiromantic is rather broad, but given it's something I'm fairly certain I am, that's how I'd describe it.)
> 
> I take prompts at my [tumblr](http://www.totallyjensensexual.tumblr.com) if you're interested! (:


End file.
